The Mulsanne is inspired by the company founder W.O. Bentley's crowning achievement in 1930, the 8-litre. And it was W.O.'s own sensitively conserved company car that shared the podium with the new Mulsanne in Pebble Beach. This early motoring masterpiece represented the last big Bentley that was designed, engineered and built from the ground up by Bentley engineers - until now.

Nearly 80 years later, while paying respect to this illustrious past, the new Mulsanne is a thoroughly modern statement ofluxurydriving and grand touring. Conceived, styled and engineered entirely at Bentley's headquarters in Crewe, England, the Mulsanne, with its completely new and unique platform, goes into production next year in a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility within the Crewe factory.

Introducing the Bentley Mulsanne at Pebble Beach, where Bentley was the featured marque, Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen, Chairman and Chief Executive of Bentley Motors, said:

"The challenge we set our engineers was to create a new grand Bentley that would stand as the pinnacle of British luxury motoring, offering the world's most exclusive driving experience. They have responded to this challenge with real passion and the result is a luxury grand tourer that sets new standards in terms of comfort, effortlessperformanceand hand-crafted refinement - the very qualities for which Bentley is renowned."

The Bentley design team, lead by Dirk van Braeckel, have created a flagship that offers the classic sporting, styling cues long-associated with Bentley - expressed in a thoroughly contemporary way.

"From the very first hand sketches in the styling studio, we were inspired by the traditions of the grand touring Bentleys and have sought to evolve this story for a new generation of Bentley enthusiasts."

The return of the Mulsanne name to a car carrying Bentley's iconic â€˜Winged B' emblem underlines the company's racing pedigree and nowhere reflects that heritage better than the famed Le Mans circuit, the scene of no fewer than six Bentley triumphs. Few places offer a stronger or more emotive connection with the Bentley marque than the famed Mulsanne corner.

The Bentley 8-litre displayed alongside the Mulsanne in California was first shown at the 1930 London Motor Show. It was the second-built and was W.O. Bentley's company car for two years. Capable of reaching more than 100 mph, the 8-litre demonstrated W.O. Bentley's ambition and ability to build a grand luxury car capable of surpassing every other leading manufacturer of the day. A total of 100 cars were built in 1930 and 1931.

"The 8-litre's breathtaking performance and quality was perhaps the finest example of a â€˜pure' grand Bentley. Every mechanical detail carried W.O. Bentley's unique stamp and it was the clearest demonstration of a car built without compromise," commented Dr. Ulrich Eichhorn, Member of the Board Engineering.

"The Mulsanne has been designed with exactly the same guiding principles, so it is entirely fitting that these Bentleys from different eras share the same stage."

The Bentley Mulsanne will go on sale from mid 2010. It will also be displayed at the forthcoming IAA Frankfurt Motor Show (15-27th September, 2009) where Bentley Motors will provide additional product information

This woman must be very brave. For starters, I'm not entirely sure that that hat doesn't have a heartbeat. Much like the Alien in Independence Day, this hat might secretly be alive, waiting for the perfect moment to laserbeam his mindthoughts over to our President Bill Pullman. But let's say this isn't an otherworldy creature, and, in fact, is just a hat as she'd like you to believe. Wouldn't you think other birds in the neighborhood would lose their sh*t at the sight of this woman? Imagine spending a nice day in the park, only to see some bird wearing a hat made out of people. You'd probably be pretty upset. Luckily, this woman seems to have a back-up plan in place in case of any unwanted deadly attacks, as her purse seems to have come equipped with an ejector seat. Good thinking, lady with no eyes.

Nothing says "British Class" like a woman wearing a miniature toilet, or "loo", on her head. Though I imagine once she removed her hand, her head would quickly fall to the floor like so many rotted teeth. If only a tiny man were taking a "wee poo" on that hat, my personal circle of life would be complete.

NOTE TO LITTLE PEOPLE: If you've ever wanted to roll around in the famous American Gladiators Sphere for a bit, contact the woman above. She'll be wearing said sphere on her head. Thank you, Minimanagement.

Much like Homer Simpson's "Nacho Hat", this head covering is simply delicious. UPDATE: Wait, is that little cake made out of PORK, as that sash indicates? In which case, let me backtrack: That cake is not delicious… it is SCRUMPTIOUS.

Remember in National Lampoon's European Vacation, when all of their luggage got stolen and they had to buy entirely new wardrobes? I'm still not entirely convinced the above snapshot is not a still from that montage.

Guess who took a quick dip in the cemetary pool last night?

How can you tell when a loved one is being abducted by aliens? When they are wearing this hat. Her smile just screams "Take. Me. To. Your. Inbreeder."

Guess who smelled like baby vomit all night?

This hat isn't so much "silly" as it is "terri-f**king-fying". It looks like she's being chased by the Ringwraiths from Lord of the Rings. And this poor woman… look how happy she is!!! She has no idea the four whoresmen of the apocalypse are hot on her tail! Look how happy she is to see you… she's all "Hi Bahsil! What? Behind me you say? Ghosts? Oh Bahsil, you ol' �" THUD. El morte.

What else do you say about this guy? That hat is absolutely silly! It's like he doesn't even know he's wearing it.